History of gunpowder
This page chronicles the history of the spread and usage of gunpowder in Raidenoff. Discovery and land wars (200 BT – 0) In about 203 BT, Hecrivastin alchemists synthesized a flammable compound they called "firepowder" out of bat guano and sulfur deposits. Although it was very limited in quantity, even small amounts had impressive power for destruction, and so King Thibault II of Pierroge declared war against Hecrivast in an attempt to monopolize firepowder sources. The war went through phases of greater and lesser involvement, as more and less warlike monarchs acceded the Pierrogic and Hecrivastin thrones, but firepowder production steadily increased throughout the second century BT. By the 130s, firepowder was being produced at enough of a volume that experimentation with explosives became possible, and under Georg VI and Thibault III, early bombs began to be used in the war. However, this was still at a limited scale, and it carried heavy risk to bombers. In 57 BT, the Peace of Collinschwef put an end to the Rhennish land wars, and created the state of Rhen: an independent, neutral nation that held most of the firepowder-producing Saltsmoke Desert. In order to establish their nation, early Rhennish monarchs began to trade firepowder throughout the Amitrean continent. This led to increased innovation with firepowder, and in 4 BT, a group of Stadlicar and Hecrivastin blacksmiths created the first functioning cannon. The cannon age (0 – 120 DR) After the Writ of Restriction prohibited firepowder from being traded with the growing empires of Alarea, firepowder became increasingly the sole provenance of Amitrean nations. Cannons were immediately popular, and leaked designs for the devices quickly spread throughout Amitrea at the beginning of the first century DR. Although the Great Saltsmoke Peace meant that cannons got little practical use for some time, the Dorian invasion of Pierroge in 35 DR provided an opportunity. The Dorians were driven back and soundly defeated by Pierrogic cannoneers, proving the worth of firepowder and earning Pierroge's Achille VIII the title "Shield of Amitrea." The next great leap in cannon design was the development of cannon-equipped ships, which admirals under Henry II of Rhen first put into practice in 56. Serving as both the Rhennish navy and as protection for merchant ships, these cannonships (termed frigates) patrolled the Diamond Bay extensively through the later half of the first century. Cannons were one of the first firepowder-based weapons to leave Amitrea in any significant capacity; in 76, a gift of fourteen frigates was given to Quasro, and Qantial merchants eagerly learned cannon designs and began trying to synthesize firepowder for themselves. This had mixed results, but by the end of the century there was modest firepowder production in the north of Pertusia. The flamethrower age (120 – 270) In 122, Yornal alchemist Sigurd Kaar developed a flamethrower, which he called the eldkaster, fueled by a mixture of firepowder and oil. This weapon reached immediate popularity in the area, owing to the fact that it was substantially faster than a cannon, and became a staple weapon in southern Amitrean wars. Attempts to make eldkaster-equipped frigates were mostly unsuccessful in early decades, as there was a high risk of wind or other circumstances causing the oeld (the firepowder/oil mixture) to ignite the ship itself. However, experimentation continued, and by 180 the Hecrivastin ship Volkskeit became the first frigate to effectively equip itself with eldkasters. Vicra attempted to purchase eldkasters for itself for its invasion of Kenkor, but out of anxiety that the technology could leak to Dorio, Pierrogic king Christophe V only traded Vicra four eldkasters in 151. This did not have any significant impact on the war, but it did gradually incorporate Vicra into the firepowder trade. Meanwhile, in Pertusia, firepowder technologies gradually spread down the west coast throughout this period. The Tocatar region eagerly adapted to eldkasters, while the Waruls had less faith in their effectiveness. In the later years of the flamethrower age, the trends leaned towards larger and larger eldkasters with more and more sheer firepower. Many of these weapons were basically propelled explosives, and in 234, rocket-type weapons began to be used in eastern Amitrea. However, the downside of these weapons was the high potential for collateral damage, and in the 250s and 260s, accidental firepowder deaths were at an all-time high. In 213, the Writ of Restriction was overturned, and access to firepowder became an important status symbol in the Dorian Empire. This came into play during the Belthion Succession War, in which both sides used firepowder significantly to their advantage. Early guns (260 – 400) The Alareans were hesitant about the eldkaster, and instead went back to the now-derided cannon as the basis for their experimentation. A major goal of the era was to increase the mobility of cannons, and so sleek wheeled cannons called sagnistae began to be used in Dorio starting in around 260. This line of experimentation became popular with the Saltsmoke Desert nations as well, who had grown tired of the increasing danger of modern eldkasters, and who were also proponents of naval warfare (in which eldkasters were never fully effective). The Hecrivastins in particular were devoted to the idea of small, portable weapons, and in 313 the Badisrof Cannon Company debuted a handheld cannon called the tragpulver. This was a closely guarded weapon, although various knock-offs began being produced, and the tragpulver was soon a common feature of northern Amitrean militaries. The tragpulver globalized firearms in a way that had not been accomplished before— it was a major success in Pertusia, becoming highly common in the northern areas and even winning over Warul leaders. Tragpulverze even reached as far as Gentor by the 350s, by which point they were being traded to Dorio as well; the late adoption in Alarea is mainly due to continuing anxieties about the empires. In 382, a group of scientists funded by Dorian king Benedict IV released a weapon called the plumbarch; thought of as the first modern firearm, the plumbarch was a much sleeker version of the tragpulver that was more efficient to reload and fire. This quickly swept through Alarea, although it could not prevent the collapse of the Dorian empire itself. Modern history (400 – present) The collapse of the Dorian Empire was what it finally took to quell Amitrean fears about conquest, and trade with southern Alarea went into full swing in the early fifth century. The rise of the Golden Quintet also spread guns throughout those parts of the world that had had minimal access to them previously. The plumbarch was very highly regarded, and so it became a common "base" for further experimentation with firearm concepts. Although the southern part of Amitrea had long been loyal to the eldkaster and its explosive variations, popular opinion finally began to shift in the later fourth century, and Yornal gunsmiths began experimenting with sleeker flamethrowers. This led to the development of the eldgebar in 428, a plumbarch-style flamethrower. The sixth century has also seen increased innovation into different schools of gunpowder-based weaponry (the term "gunpowder" gradually supplanted "firepowder" in the fifth century). Land mines became popular in the flat, open Odatho Plains of Kussia, for instance, while Cornic scientists developed the lonrugren, which was designed to blind and incapacitate enemies rather than simply kill them. Today, the most prevalent regions of gunpowder production are the Saltsmoke Desert (as ever), Gentor, and the most arid portion of the Odatho Plains. Category:History